This author has not written his bio yet.
But we are proud to say that Penelope J. Corfield contributed 175 entries already.
My mother, Irene Mary Corfield (née Hill)1, was a remarkable woman who lived a private life but seemed, through the quiet force of her personality, to represent a veritable strand of British public identity. She was born on 18 March 1919, the second child and only daughter of a York solicitor with a strong Methodist […]
If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2013) Two fascinating questions, to which my response to the first is: No – History is bigger than any specific branch of knowledge – it covers everything that humans have done, which includes lots besides Politics. Needless to say, such a subject lends itself to […]
Review by: Penelope J. Corfield after viewing with Tony Belton On Wednesday 10 April 2013 At: Theatre 503 at the Latchmere, 503 Latchmere Road SW11 3BW Directed by: Paul Robinson Cast: Ben Adams; Claire Dargo; Pamela Dwyer; Gregory Finnegan; Cameron Jack; Paula Masterton; Rhys Owen; Owen Whitelaw Pretty amazing stuff – with a live snake. […]
If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2013) The answer is unequivocally No. (Obvious really but worth saying still?) History as a subject is far, far too important to become a political football. It teaches about conflict as well as compromise; but that’s not the same as being turned into a source […]
If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2013) If post-seminar questions are less memorable that the papers or lectures which precede them, then the answers tend to be even less anecdotable. I can think of only a handful, among thousands of intellectual encounters, which remain in my memory. Nevertheless, answers in an […]
If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2013) What? what? what? Always good to ask questions. Not always easy to manage a good one. In the debates following the thousands of public lectures and seminar papers that I’ve heard, a few examples stand out. One was simplicity itself. It caught out a […]
If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2013) Apart from the routine lectures that form the bread-and-butter of an academic’s job, we constantly give special lectures and/or papers. These presentations are made to a miscellany of research seminars, public meetings, specialist societies, academic conferences and other outlets, at home and overseas. From […]
IN NEW TRANSLATION BY CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON AT LONDON’S VAUDEVILLE THEATRE, THE STRAND WC1 Viewed by Penelope J. Corfield and Tony Belton 14 December 2012 ‘Basically, life in Russia sucks’, summarised the young man in the row behind us, for the benefit of his somewhat bemused companions, who had obviously expected something jollier. We had all […]
If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2012) How do we champion (not merely defend) the study of History in schools and Universities? Against those who wrongly claim that the subject is not commercially ‘useful’. Here are three recommendations. Firstly, we should stress the obvious: that a knowledge of history and an […]
If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2012) Politicians have a duty to attend to civics as well as to economics. Indeed, we all do. So talking about whether the study of History is ‘useful’ for the economy is a very partial way of approaching an essential component of human’s collective living. […]
Penelope J. Corfield is a historian, lecturer and education consultant. She currently serves as the President of the International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ISECS).
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